While the brand name may not conjure up images of delicious food, Bearded Brothers’ raw, 100% natural and vegan friendly bars are, in fact, quite delicious.

They’re made from real, whole foods like dates, almonds and other nuts, dried peaches, coconut, cocoa, chia seeds, cinnamon and more, most being organic. The texture’s lightly moist, and satisfyingly hefty such that you need to give it a few noshes before swallowing, but not so thick or dry it needs immediate chasing with water. You can let the flavor linger a bit and enjoy.

Four flavors -Blueberry Vanilla, Ginger Peach, Maca Chocolate and Coconut Mango- are made in small batches in Austin, TX, using raw, vegan, 100% natural ingredients that are free of gluten and soy. Each 20z bar packs roughly 240 calories. Check below for ingredients lists and mini review…

Click to enlarge.

In addition to a couple used to whittle away hunger pangs on long drives, I used three of them on the Baller’s Ride (80 miles over 6+ hours of insane climbing) and one on today’s 3.5 hour mountain bike ride. Along with good hydration, they kept the furnace stoked and the legs spinning. At just 20z, I wouldn’t mind them being a tad bigger to pack in a few more calories. The mix of fats, carbs and protein do an impressive job of muting a growling tummy, but on long days I was grabbing for another one a little too soon.

They’re easy to open and eat while moving. As in, they hold together firmly but are easy to chomp and chew. Perhaps my only complaint (other than wanting them big-ified) is that the outer paper section of the wrapper absorbs sweat when thrown in a jersey pocket. I don’t think it soaks through the inner liner, though.

Retail’s $3 each, sold in four-packs or a case of $12. Order direct or find a list of retailers on their website.

Comments

i make similar stuff at home, sounds tasty! i use brown rice syrup and some other junk in there.

Ronin - 06/09/14 - 12:11am

I’m on the lookout for new ride food. This seems worth a try (I’ll have to wait till they get big and ship to UK). I think the more variety in the ingredients the better. Forget the argument about gels or not, it’s scientifically proven by my stomach that if my food is more tasty, I’ll ride further

Tyler, thanks for the great review! As far as the wrapper I know what you mean. It destroys the outer paper, but inner lining does not get affected. We are considering switching the material of the outer lining, though. The good thing…taste is never afrected!

silverlining - 06/09/14 - 9:23am

I’m still trying to figure out if the gels I like will kill me and now you confuse the issue with another tasty decision? Argh.

Ajax - 06/09/14 - 10:33am

Unless the Beards can tell athletes why their bars are any better than the multitude of other energy bars out there then their business is going to flat out fail. It isn’t enough to have long facial hair and say that your bars are different. So what? Every energy bar says that their bar is different. How is the Bearded Bros bars any BETTER?

Robo - 06/09/14 - 12:17pm

taste?

Dr. Sartorious - 06/09/14 - 12:48pm

I’ with @Ajax on this one. I mean, hey, it’s great to support the little guy and all, but I need a value add here to justify paying a little more. The “bro hipster” factor isn’t enough.

As with all things bicycle these days, it’s always support the little guys and bemoan the big guys. Can’t wait for the anti-CLIF and GU ad copy.

Topmounter - 06/09/14 - 2:55pm

It doesn’t really matter what is written on the packaging other than an accurate list of ingredients. The only way I can determine whether food / gel / drink works for me is to try it and see if it tastes good and/or induces the trots or not.

Ajax, the bars contain around 6-8 simple ingredients per bar. They are made with 99-100% organic ingredients, and are non-gmo. They are also soy and gluten free. They won’t give you a gut bomb either. Just ask the guys of: Boneshaker D1 Racing, they are killing it in the Cat 5 races using our bars. Team Wooly Mammoth and Beat the Clock Cycling can attest to their greatness as well. You will have to be the judge for yourself.

The biggest difference in our bars: CLEAN ingredient label, NO added sugars, great blend of simple and complex carbs, these bars are just simple, mostly nuts and dates, and one nut free bar that uses hemp seeds! Oh, and the taste GREAT!

sambo - 06/09/14 - 4:25pm

i find it funny that all these bar makers use the same ingredients AND that the chief ingredient is DATES – without dates ever being listed in the flavor of the bar.

anonymous - 06/09/14 - 11:09pm

@Ajax
They have beards. And that’s just crazy. Because Specialized proved that beards are less aero.

How many more races until they can no longer kill it in CAT 5?

austincyclist - 06/10/14 - 12:21am

I don’t know if these bearded ultra runners realize cat 5 is the beginner class in cycling… ;). Their bars are tasty though… I buy em..

I like the idea. I like the rationale with all natural ingredients being easier to digest as a means to improve performance. It needs to be more simple and effective. And to be honest with you, I just don’t like the name or the picture of long hairy beards on the wrapper. It just conjures up some unkempt bar. Unkempt facial hair as a tool for selling energy bars?

Athletes care about performance. Focus on how their performance improves. The granola junkies that bathe once a month aren’t your target audience. Athletes are. Focus on them, and get rid of the beards. At least, get rid of it on the packaging and on the name of the bar. It just says, “energy bar, made by some guys who don’t shave, and possibly not bathe either.”

This product is suffering from a Major image problem. I have no doubt that the product is probably fantastic.

Jimmy - 06/10/14 - 10:06am

What about the packaging? Did you find a way to make a package that doesn’t make more landfill for every serving? That drives me nuts with all this stuff.

austincyclist – I bike myself, and we sponsor a few teams. We know what Cat 5 is

Ajax, why all the hate? Our primary thought behind “Bearded Brothers” was to promote the family owned aspect of the business. Not use our beards as a selling tool. We started the company thre years ago just before beards became ultra trendy.

Jimmy – the packaging is compostable, which means the biodegrade and leave nothing behind.

Ok, I feel like an idiot now too. I meant Cat 1, not Cat 5. Our riders are all in Cat 1 races. I had the levels reversed.

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